lateral lower leg muscle causing knee pain?

[Santi]

After doing too much hiking during a weekend in Cochise Stronghold in S. AZ. I developed a sharp pain on the outside of my right knee. I thought it was ITBS and it still may be, but after doing physical therapy every day for a month to strengthen my TFL and glutes it didn't solve my issue.

I tested out my progress by doing a 5 mile hike that goes up a river and the pain came back before I finished the hike. During the hike I noticed the really tight muscle on the outside of my leg. I think it's the Extensor Digitorum Longus, but maybe it's the Peroneus Longus?

I was wondering if anyone else has had similar symptoms?

Also, does anyone know of any Barefoot friendly docs in the Tucson area?
I didn't see any on the map or after a Google search.

I drive a shuttle for a living and my right ankle is almost constantly dorsally flexed and often everted. I'm thinking that's where the tightness came from. Hiking up the river also required more effort to dorsally flex the ankle.

I'm currently using a foam roller and tennis ball to massage the area. I will update this post when it's no longer tight and let you know if it has improved my problem.

 

[migangelo]

sounds a bit similar to what i go through. my pain is more in my ankle in and foot and itb. a strong, overworked peronues longus could mean weak tib posterior. sorry but there's no easy solution for you over the internet but just a bit of trial and error.

 

[Santi]

Thanks for the lead Mike, I'll look into some tibialis posterior exercises. I should have made the title of this thread something about repetitive driving injury because the pain definitely seems to be coming from keeping my ankle flexed and hovering above the gas/brake pedal.

It only took 3 days to roll out all the tension in my lower leg, but it still gets a little sore after a day of driving. I'm trying to keep my foot relaxed as much as possible using my left foot for the brake and using cruise control when possible.

Another note about my particular situation is that I feel the most intense pain when I'm walking on flat surfaces and only when I lift my leg to begin a new step. Something about extending my knee joint and/or flexing my ankle seemed to be causing the pain.

 

[Barefoot TJ]

Santi, please feel free to post in our Ask the Docs forum too. We have six doctors "on call" to answer questions that relate to your running health: an MD, two podiatrists, and three chiropractors